Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Bag Design and Pattern-Making Work-Along

Many years ago, I used to run weekly classes in bag design and patternmaking. It was popular with the locals, but people living interstate and overseas were always asking me to put it online, so that they could attend, too.

AT LAST - Creativebug have done just that. These classes are the first stages of learning to design and make your own bag patterns, and will set you up to make a very broad range of designs..

The first class is all about learning the basic processes and terminology for patternmaking. It's about beginning to draft simple shapes, making basic patterns, and understanding the relationship between the 3-dimensional bag and the 2-d pattern.. The same processes are used as the designs become more complicated in Parts 2 and 3.

Part 2 is all about the KEY to patternmaking - moving seamlines. This is how you change the design lines of the bag, create colour blocking, linings, pockets and facings.

And here I am, looking like an old lady peering over her glasses. (I hadn't realised how wrong the prescription was with these glasses until I couldn't see the cameraman - over or through the frames - with my middle-aged eyes...). There is some squinting to camera, but also lots of patternmaking and construction techniques for making the bags.

Part 3 is all the bells and whistles that jazz up the bag - pleats, gathers, etc.

When I taught Patternmaking for Bags in my studio, I ran it as two sets of four sessions - Beginners and Advanced - 8 weeks in total. There is a lot more that you can learn, but these three sessions will set you up to make all the shapes that appear in my Beginners, Basic and most of the Intermediate range of patterns, as well as those in The Better Bag Maker, and many more besides.

The Creativebug work-along includes the sewing techniques for the overall shape construction, but if you want tips and tricks for things like using interfacings and hardware, inserting zips and pockets and getting a fine finish on your bag, check out my other classes on Creativebug and/or read my book The Better Bag Maker.

Who knows, maybe we might follow up with another online work-along one day.